D'ni/D'ni History
:See Also: D'ni Timeline History While most of the Ronay escaped to Terahnee, a few thousand wished to follow Ri'neref and his ideals, to an Age he wrote. Ri'neref had prepared for himself and his followers a new home inside a cavern, believing that harsh conditions would enable them to be loyal to Yahvo. The place, as well as his followers, were named D'ni (meaning "New Beginning") and were excited to follow new laws that would separate them from the old ways. Some of the first establishments of the D'ni were the 18 Guilds of D'ni, aiming to be a healthier reconstruction of the Guilds of Garternay. As the numbers of the D'ni grew, their first feat was the construction of a ventilation system that would provide the cavern with fresh air. With their then-primitive tunneling technology, much help was employed from many volunteers in order to manage wider and larger tunnels. During that time ( - ) some D'ni seem to have disappeared. There are vague historical references, such as guild discussions concerning what action they would take after finding some remaining on the surface, unwilling to return. Although all official historical accounts deny any contact with the surface dwellers,Old DRC Site: Early Earth it's possible that there was some communication or commerce, and some people, like the Amad, could be their descendants. Despite living in a bleak cavern, the D'ni, especially the wealthy ones, had access to other Ages through Linking Books. That was until with the opening of the Common Library. It was the first time the commoners had access to other Ages. In , to celebrate their first century of presence on Earth, the King's Arch was constructed. King Mararon made major revisions to educational system and established the Minor Guilds. Groups who strongly disagreed with the mainstream theologies sought to make their own causes more widely known. In the extremist Judges of Yahvo and Pento warriors attacked the palace and the Pento War begun. King Koreen was unable to reinforce the small military of the day, as the Judges and the Pento destroyed the City and killed the citizens, until they claimed control of the D'ni City and began to move into other Ages. Meanwhile, the public felt as though the prophecies were coming to fruition. Koreen's son Ahlsendar, took advantage of the Pento infighting and in he defeated the Pento and the Judges. The Great King His reign was considered to fulfill the prophecies of the arrival of the Great King. Throughout his reign, Ahlsendar encouraged his people to return to the principles taught by Ri'neref: forget about Garternay and focus on why they came to D'ni. Ahlsendar devastated the Pento by employing an artificial plague. He took responsibility and buried himself in the Tomb of the Great King along with infected linking books and those that linked the D'ni with their past (like Terahnee). Ahlsendar managed to shape a fairly stable culture, but without their greatest leader, the D'ni were on the fringe of religious anarchy. In "The Book of Nemiya" denounced Ahlsendar causing an outrage and bringing the D'ni people to religious chaos. King Solath made attempts to re-unify D'ni and divert attention from religious arguments. In the time of King Me'erta, cults sprang up everywhere, wreaking havoc on the existing religious beliefs. The Temple of Yahvo was empty and its priests and prophets were small in number, as many had left to pursue other beliefs. Plague When the seal to the Tomb of the Great King was broken, the plague escaped, and its signs appeared in the early reign of King Gan. The Guild of Healers would discover that the plague was an evolved version of Ahlsendar's disease. It cut D'ni life spans in half and caused massive infertility. For the elderly and the young, death usually came quickly in the form of heart failure. Most people to turned to religion seeking trust and hope. Many factions and cults were created, with messianic figures and healers. In its later stages, there was a 95% fatality rate. The plague ended up killing over a quarter of the D'ni population and cutting birth rates in half, until its cure was found in . An elixir and cure was developed by the Healers. A newfound optimism spread throughout the culture, and unofficially, the D'ni Renaissance began. After the upheaval, the people were focused in a love for the arts, technology, of the further exploration into the "truths" of the universe. Renaissance The D'ni Renaissance was spearheaded by King Naygen. Guild of Fine Artists was broken down to several Minor Guilds to advance them. The teachings of Ri'neref and the Great King were largely left behind and religious confusion was increased. 2500 sects were registered and the original beliefs of Ri'neref their culture had been founded upon, were now known by very few. King Hinash pursued better relationships, further interaction and increased trade with the outsiders. The rules of traveling and trade, as well as the cultural "rules" concerning relationships with them were opened up. Foreign materials were used much more in construction, clothing and jewelry; foreign influence began to show itself in the D'ni art and music. Hinash himself was the first recorded D'ni to marry an outsider. Tevahr, an ardent student of the Great King, was appalled at the state of his people, especially pertaining to religious confusion, denounced the sects and encouraged return to faith. Supported by King Rakeri, Tevahr led the public back to their original beliefs. The once numerous sects had diminished to 47, with only 10 having more than 500 members. The people were again unified and much work was done to join the D'ni classes of rich and poor. Tevahr's teachings unified the people throughout the poor reigns of King Tejara and Ti'amel, managing to focus on their personal lives and Yahvo more than their King. After them, King Kedri proved to be the most popular King, and all respected and cared for him greatly. Division Kings Lemashal and Ishek focused on the involvement of the outsiders and their importance to the D'ni culture and expansion. Lemashal was the first recorded D'ni to have a child with an outsider. Ishek resolved a crisis fabricated to discredit the outsiders. The public realised that it was their own blood who could not be trusted. As a result, there was a great push for more strict guidelines for interaction with other Ages as well as rules for the Ages themselves. Loshemanesh passed laws and restrictions considering involvement with the Outsiders, to encourage it. He preached that problems were not caused by the outsiders, but by the D'ni themselves, unless they changed. Around that time the people attempted to be unified, but during the time of King Ji religions and classes were again separated. The "Words" added to the confusion, prophecizing a great destruction. King Demath, and the D'ni Council enforced the Loshemanesh Laws and stand against the extremist isolationist factions, if they led to any infractions. The Relyimah pursued all who were carrying out illegal activities with the outsiders. Demath also enforced an unprecedented amendment to the Guilds, allowing a percentage of non-paying qualified students. After the murder of King Yableshan's son, the D'ni were further separated with the majority becoming angrier and less tolerable with the isolationist minority, who were becoming stronger every day. Very few D'ni fell into the middle ground. In a plague was imported from Yasafe to Nehw'eril District which was confronted by King Me'emen. As he was more interested in technological advancements and city expansion, he paid little attention to the religious pulse; the "Words" started having much influence to the public, who started caring again for the older temples. King Lanaren attepted to pacify the extremist factions by eliminating outsider involvement; for example he replaced some Ages used by outsiders, with 3 new Food Ages, which however were never used as productively. Asemlef allowed any and all religious factions and classes equal access to property, opportunity and benefits, while himself took no stance on any of the varying ideologies. The D'ni people were technologically advancing with many great construction, mining, and scientific inventions, thanks to which they were expanding within the cavern. The involvement of outsiders returned, but was diminished resulting to some stability. During his time, the D'ni were philosophically confused between The Watcher, Gish and Tevahr. His son Jaron continued his father's policies, debating with the factions, now pacified and diminishing. Jaron focused on pleasing everyone, from rich to poor, although he did nothing to unite them. Rikooth understood why the isolationists wished to close down interaction with outsiders, but he argued that there was no way, to force strict resolutions regarding the outsiders, as their contribution to D'ni culture was immeasurable. In later centuries, te D'ni became more numerous and divided as ever, with many religious, philosophical and ideological views. King Kerath realized that the old ways of the Kings as Ri'neref established them, were no more appropriate, and that the D'ni should be ruled by the Guilds themselves. After establishing his reformations, he resigned willingly, beginning a new era for D'ni. Conservative factions orchestrated another war. The Mee-Dis War broke out when Outsiders allegedly invaded and almost succeeded to destroy the Ink-Making Guild and Book-Making Guilds. By the end of the War, most came to follow the teachings of Gish and thus believe in the end of most outsider involvement. The conservative trends were too strong, even after the actual origins of the war were revealed. Fall During the last years of D'ni, a project begun to discover and establish contact with the surface dwellers. The project was abandoned, but D'ni was discovered by a human girl, Anna. Her welcoming to the D'ni society triggered events that resulted to the disastrous actions of Veovis and A'gaeris who brought the Fall of D'ni. Most D'ni were devastated, while the plague spread throughout the cavern. Some managed to escape by linking to other Ages, but the plague spread into as many Ages as the renegades could find, nearly wiping out the D'ni.Old DRC site Atrus, descendant of the last survivors, attempted to rediscover the survivors and gather them to rebuild D'ni 80 years after the catastrophe. Traveling to other Ages, he found more than 1800 survivors and their descendants. It turned out that the city contained deep tragic history and they decided it was a time for another fresh start. Eventually Atrus wrote for them a new age, Releeshahn, and the D'ni relocated there.Myst III: Exile - Prima Official Guide Category:D'ni Civilization